Emery Atwood
Emery Grace Atwood is the main character and female protagonist of the Beauty of the Dark series. She is the best friend, love interest, and later, wife of Jesse Lansing. She is a former exotic dancer and waitress. She is a successful writer. Emery's parents were as in love as two humans could ever be. This prompted her to desire a 'love that would last forever', much like the one that her parents had. When they died, however, Emery's portrait of love was tarnished with the realization that love didn't last forever, as it hadn't with her parents. Nonetheless, she still pursued love because she still wanted to be loved, even if it wasn't forever. When she was assaulted, Emery lost all hope for any kind of love because she didn't believe that anyone could ever love her now that she was "damaged". In reality, this view is her own- she no longer loved herself anymore because she saw herself as damaged goods, so she believed that no one else could love her for the same reason. She refused to allow herself to love anyone in order to avoid the anticipated pain of rejection she knew would come when they learned of her past. After learning that she was pregnant with her assaulter's child, she ran away because she couldn't tolerate the emotional pain of the assault now that she was pregnant, and couldn't bear to think of what her family and friends might think if they ever found out. Early Life Emery Grace Atwood was born in Amherst, Virginia on May 15, 1992 to Harrison and Vanessa Atwood. She is the older sister of Nathan. From the age of 2, her mother had enrolled her in gymnastics. When she was six, a new family had moved in town. At school, Emery then met Jesse Lansing, and the two became quick friends. At the end of eighth grade, Jesse developed feelings for popular queen bee Charlotte Watson, something that angered Emery greatly, seeing as Charlotte was well known for "sleeping, but not keeping" and was fearful that she would hurt Jesse. Then, in the beginning of her freshman year of high school, her mother begged her to join the cheerleading squad, and Emery did so reluctantly. However, soon after making the team with her two best friends Lorena and Jasmine, her mother and father had tragically died in a car accident. Despite this, Emery decided to remain on the team in honor of her mother. After the deaths of her parents, Emery began to show a more fragile, vulnerable side of herself but learned that this played to her disadvantage as she was judged by many of her peers and teachers, who did not understand why she was taking so long to grief. However, she had a small group of friends whom supported her and understood her sudden change of behavior. Things began to look up for her when she had gotten accepted into the college of her dreams, Hollins University, where she planned to study Creative Writing. Hollins also was the alma mater of her parents, and where they met. 2010 On April 17, the night of her senior prom, Emery was snatched while walking home alone and then taken into the back of her captor's car where he raped her for thirty minutes. She eventually escaped. After the assault, Emery revealed what happened to Angie, but only that she was raped, not wanting to mention the details of how the assault had occured as it was still so fresh and painful. Over the next few weeks following the assault, Emery withdrew herself from her family and friends and stopped going to school as she sank into a state of depression as reality sunk in. She briefly turned to self-harm in order to relieve some of the pain, but found it caused more pain and eventually stopped. For a short period, she attempted to use painkillers as a solution, but her body could not tolerate them as she began to feel weaker. She began vomiting, and eventually, she learned that she was pregnant with her assaulter's child. When she found out that she was pregnant, she couldn't handle the emotional and mental pain of being pregnant while attempting to "cope" with the assault. She then begged Angie to let her move in with her other aunt in order to begin healing away from where she was constantly reminded of the assault. Unfortunately, Angie denied this as it was too complicated and expensive to do so. Emery then realized that she had to leave home. Emery then met with her neighbor Mrs. Berry, who had leant her $3,000 in cash to flee town with. Emery then took the money and left town, unsure of where she was headed. Soon after leaving town, Emery pawned her phone and with some of the money, purchaced a new one as well as a burner phone. Using the burner phone, she left a message to Angie telling her that she was safe, but she is not coming home and to not call the police, then dumped the phone. Angie did call the police despite Emery's request. However, they were unable to find her beacuse Angie told the police that she most likely would head up to her paternal aunt's house, which was a dead end. Ending up in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, Emery slept in her car until her 18th birthday the following month as she couldn't legally rent an apartment yet, let alone make any large movements without getting arrested. During this time, she lived off of the vending machines outside of a Walgreens. Once she realized that she needed real food to support her baby, she began to sneak into the local food shelter each night. When she turned eighteen, Emery struggled to find a well-paying job that would allow her to both get a decent apartment and live off of while taking care of her pregnancy at the same time. One day, she came across an add for a local gentlemen's club called The Roaring Twenties. She applied for a job as a waitress, and was immediately accepted. Eventually, she she sold her car for more money toward a house instead as she was gaining a lot of money from her job. Her boss, Noel Matheson, however, began to take a strange liking to her, which made Emery uncomfortable, but she put up with it due to the high-paying job. About a week after being accepted for the job, Emery called her aunt, brother, Lorena and Jasmine to tell them that she was alive and safe and that she wasn't coming home. Lorena and Jasmine then begged to see her, to which Emery declined. However, within a couple of days, the two of them tracked Emery down and showed up at her doorstep as she was leaving for work. She was shocked to see them, and they were shocked to see her life now, but demanded to know why she left town, and wouldn't leave until she told them. Emery finally confided in them about the reason behind her leaving town. The two decide to stay down in Richmond through Emery's pregnancy, much to her reluctance. However, she opened herself up to them. As she progressed through her pregnancy, she became more guarded and detached as she knew she couldn't keep her baby due to the mental and emptional state she was in. She soon negotiated to adopt her son to her longtime friend. During the week before Christmas, Noel threw a holiday party. During the evening, he was very attentive of Emery, claiming it to be because she was in the last month of her pregnancy. However, Emery knew he was trying to move in on her. At the party, Emery felt very ashamed and embarrassed about her situation, surely knowing that the people who stared at her for the majority of the evening asked about her marital status. Despite this, Lorena and Jasmine attempted to cheer her up, succeeding eventually. The week after Christmas, on December 28, 2010, Emery went into labor at 2:00 am. Lorena and Jasmine, who were staying overnight at Emery's, drove her to the hospital, and while in the waiting room, called Emery's aunt and brother. Once the two arrived, Emery reluctantly admitted Angie and Nathan into the delivery room. With the support of her aunt and brother, Emery gave birth to a boy at 9:25 pm. When she saw him for the first time, Emery burst into tears of happiness and joy. When Nathan asked what the baby's name was, Emery then sobbed even harder, knowing that she couldn't provide a stable life for him and realizing how hard it is to do so. After giving her baby up for adoption, Emery sprung herself into her work as a distraction despite Noel's insisting that she stay home and recover. She also began to show more of a rebellious and carefree streak as an attempt to cope with the pain of losing her son. Noel began to ask her to perform shows when one of the dancers, Tara, begins a string of frequent absences. Eventually, Noel offers Emery a full-time job as a dancer, which she declines at first, only to accept eventually. 2014 Emery is living in a small house just on the edge of Richmond, much to the dismay of Lorena and Jasmine. She is doing well financially as a result of her part-time dancing gig at the club, where she gathers most of her tips. She spends a fair portion of her salary on expensive clothes and accessories in attempt to cope with her low self-esteem. She goes clubbing with her coworkers often. Every Saturday at 3, her friend Caitlyn calls or emails her with updates on her now three and a half-year-old son, many of which she seldom responds to. This is Emery's only connection and reminder of her past, so she tries to avoid it as much as possible. Despite her determination not to feel, she breaks down for about an hour after every update. However, despite the sadness that she feels during these sessions, she enjoys hearing news about her son. Caitlyn offers repeatedly to bring her son over, but Emery declines. She gets frequent visits from Lorena and Jasmine, who are living in their own apartment more toward the city. She is often upset by these visits as she knows they are checking up on her to make sure she hasn't bailed again. Emery claims she is happy and carefree. However, this is not the case. Despite her financial success, She only spends her money on clothing, cosmetics and accessories, as well as her bills. She gets anxiety attacks a lot as a result of her assault, but dismisses them as "fits". She craves being in a group of people because being alone triggers thoughts or flashbacks of her assault, which she can't stand because the feelings are too much for her to handle. The only place she allows herself to be alone is her house. Her home is also the only place she allows herself to get upset if she needs to, and if she begins to get upset or is already upset anywhere else, she makes every attempt to go home and break down. After her fits, she dismisses her feelings and resumes what she was doing as if she weren't affected at all. Emery and Jesse met again, and then they celebrate her birthday. In The Novels |-|The Beauty of the Dark= Emery is seen..a mysterious woman named Carolyn Wright threatens Emery |-|The Place Beyond the Walls= Emery takes self-defense lessons with Alex, who teaches private lessons. Emery and Jesse are... Emery attended Richmond University and graduated. Personality Physical Appearance Relationships Name First *'Emery' is a name of German origin derived from the surname Emmerich, which in turn was taken from the German amal, meaning "bravery" and ric, meaning "rule, power". The meaning of Emery is "brave ruler; brave power". Middle *'Grace' is a name of Latin origin that means "happiness". Last *'Atwood' is a surname... Trivia *Her character went through several name changes until Roman decided on Emery Atwood. *She is considered to be a modern version of Holly Golightly, the protaganist of her favorite film Breakfast At Tiffany's. * If her parents hadn't died, it is unlikely that Emery would have handled her attack the way she did, if it had even happened given her parents were alive. * In the beginning of the series, the only person she truly loves is her son. * Despite her financial success in the beginning of the series, she never bought a car. *She has a good poker face as she's spent the last three years living a lie. *No one but Jesse can see past Emery's act. *Emery never wanted to be a dancer because she thought it was trashy, but soon decided to occasionally dance when she realized how much money the dancers made in tips and when she decided to take back control of her sexuality. *Despite dressing provacatively, she is repulsed by the attitude she recieves from men as a result. *As determined as she is to prove that she is fine, she refuses to partake in sexual intercourse due to the fear of being hurt again sexually. *She can't take a compliment well and often laughs it off with a self-attack, hinting to her insecurities. *She has a list of fears that she carries around daily, most of which are attributed to the circumstances of her assault. It is unknown what the purpose of this is. *Those fears include the fear of being alone, the fear of being touched, the fear of tape (her mouth was taped shit to stifle her screams), the fear of restraint (her hands were cuffed behind her back), the fear of cigarette scent, the fear of whiskey scent. *Her favorite store is Bebe. *She owns a diamond tennis bracelet from Tiffany & Co. that can be seen on the alternate cover of the first book. This bracelet covers up her self-harm scar. *She owns a pair of heels from Louboutin, Jimmie Choo, Prada and Michael Kors. *She owns a navy blue trench coat from Burberry that she wears to and from work. *She carries her work uniform and necessities in a purple Louis Vuitton that was given to her by Lorena. *The way that Emery's grief was recieved by her peers may have significantly influeneced Emery's fear of rejection. Tropes *She is a Damsel In Distress. *She believes that she is Defiled Forever. *She suffered a A Fate Worse Than Death. *She has Rape As Backstory. *She was unknowingly part of a plan of Post Rape Taunt. *She is seen as a Sugar And Ice Girl. *She comes from a Dark And Troubled Past. *She is a Broken Bird. *She is in an Epiphanic Prison. *She is a Reluctant Fanservice Girl. *She is a Stripper With A Heart of Gold. *She is introduced with a "Break the Cutie" persona. *After her assault, she Stopped Caring about most things. *Her son is her Achille's Heel. *She believes that in order to move forward, Don't Look Back. *She is a victim of Revenge By Proxy. *She suffers a Bewildering Punishment. *She goes through the Five Stages Of Grief after losing her parents as well as after her assault. *Before her assault, she was known as the Girl Next Door. *She is a Lonely Rich Kid. *She is Not With Him For The Money. *She is considered to be The Tragic Rose of the story. *She struggles with a Loss Of Identity. 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